


Overwhelmed

by MikoNeko



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: American Sign Language, F/F, supercat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:32:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7978498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikoNeko/pseuds/MikoNeko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carter is stuck at school during a lock down procedure and Kara comes to his rescue as Supergirl, accidentally outing herself later when its revealed to the teen that both her personas know ASL and have sisters who taught them. This revelation may in fact lead Kara and Cat closer together to something...more than friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The paast couple of days I’ve been working on this fic. It’s currently at 14 pages and I still have a few things to write out, but here’s the first installment of SuperCat Family meets American Sign Language.
> 
> I adore ASL and think it's a very interesting and important language. I really wish it had been offered in my schools growing up because then I totally would be fluent in another language, but alas, I've picked up signs from girl scouts, Switched at Birth and then finally two actual classes in college. So of course, I eventually felt the urge to use it in fic. Btw, the sentences signed are going to seem weird but ASL doesn't have certain words in its language like “are” or “am” or “is”. Communication is based mostly on the important words, so bare with it, please. Also, if I mess anything up or have worded something wrong, let me know and I will adjust. I am by no means a master of ASL but merely an interested party.

The school was in lockdown mode. The lights all shut off, the doors closed and locked, window blinds pulled and children hiding in the classrooms. This was not good and one Carter Grant was currently freaking out and closing in on himself. He was hid behind the teacher's desk having come up to turn in a test at the time the alarm had sounded before he dropped to the floor and slid into the cubby under the desk. His knees were pulled to his chest as he tried to become as small as possible, arms wrapped around his legs as he rested his chin. The teacher was taking a roll call of the children and reminding them to be silent, luckily already knowing Carter was behind her desk so there was no need to whisper his name into the void.

It was eerily silent in the halls for several moments, the seconds hand on the clock ticking steadily. Carter felt his throat bob as he gulped in an attempt to reign in his fear, but it was to no avail. Unfortunately, his phone was in his bag by his desk or else he would have texted his mother to get a lifeline to reality, to sanity and to safety. Well...relative safety, mental safety. Perhaps she even had a direct line to Supergirl!

Hopefully the superhero was already on her way. A school in danger, surely that must rank high on the list of duties happening in National City today. Carter jumped when he heard frantic feet echo outside in the hallway. He felt himself begin to hyperventilate and further curled in on himself. He couldn't bring attention to himself and his classroom, he had to maintain control of his faculties. Carter counted to ten three times in his head, focusing on breathing evenly. He was terrified, there was no way to get rid of that, but he could endeavor to be quiet.

A murmur kicked up from his classmates of a possible all clear as the teacher shushed them once more only to be silenced at the ringing sound of a bullet, causing the room to yelp in surprise. Carter's eyes dilated and he noticed his vision going blurry as his eyes filled with tears. They were safe here...right? Right?? He whimpered lightly, clamping his hands down onto his ears to evade hearing another noise. He didn't even dare peek out from the desk to spy his classmates or teacher and make sure they were okay. His flight instincts were in control and he was only concerned with his own autonomy, as selfish as that was. Anyone in his position would be, he rationalized, biting his lip.

Though his hands were over his ears, he still heard the muffled sounds of movement outside the classroom, less frantic this time, more of a pounding sound, aggressive, angry. Carter closed his eyes shut and ran through all of the rescues he had seen or read about of Supergirl's. A distraction was in high order for the young teen.

–

St. Edmund Hall had been shut down, a lockdown is what they called it. The instant Kara had heard Cat's phone go off, inadvertently listened in and heard the pertinent details, she sped away into the stairwell and changed into her Supergirl outfit. That was Carter's school! She leaped out of the window and flew off toward the building, barely holding back the urge to break the sound barrier in her haste. It would only cause more problems, breaking the windows of the towers along the way. That wouldn't do no matter the dire circumstances.

Kara recounted the one time her and Alex were instructed through a lockdown drill. It was a relatively new ordeal, probably brought on by the events of 9/11, if she recalled correctly. The lights would all be off, everything should to closed and locked and the children in a safe unseen area of the classroom, right? She made a silent prayer to Rao to prevent any and all disasters at the school today, most of all to protect Carter. If something happened to him...Kara would definitely fling herself into space unexpectedly so Alex couldn't come and rescue her this time. Was that drastic? Yes, but she didn't care. She adored Carter and couldn't imagine the pained expression on Cat's face if something happened to him. Kara wouldn't survive that conversation with her boss by pure sympathetic urges alone. Cat and Carter had come to mean a great deal to the Kryptonian, more than she had even realized until that precise moment as she neared the school and touched down outside, nearly making a small crater in the pavement. What those feelings actually meant would have to wait until the crisis was averted.

She walked up to the police officer in charge. “What do you know?” she asked, hands on her hips as she scanned the school in an attempt to find the younger Grant.

“Fifteen minutes ago the school's lockdown alarm went off, unexpectedly. We hadn't planned on a drill this month so a staff member must have tripped it. From what we've gathered there's at least two possible hostiles inside, armed and dangerous. Nothing else has come through from the administrative office, but the teachers seem to have locked down the school well. Nothing visible from the outside windows. We've not gone inside yet, however,” the man explained without hesitation. “We're waiting on our negotiator.”

“I'm going in,” Kara informed them.

“Supergirl, wait--” he was cut off by the sound of a round of gunshots going off in the school. Kara's eyes widened as the police officers around her ducked behind their cars.

Immediately she zipped to the front of the school and carefully managed to get in without breaking the lock of the door, she immediately relocked it once inside, pausing as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Kara had been unable to locate Carter in the prestigious academy before she came in, but now her priority had to be neutralizing the threat. With the help of super speed and a little bit of floating to remain quiet, she moved swiftly through the school in search of the bastards who decided to ruin these innocent children's Friday.

Kara froze around one corner, hearing picking up a whispered conversation between two males.

“C'mon man, you promised you had my back. Why ya chickenin' out now?”

“They're just kids, man. How can we hurt kids?”

“We're not hurtin' 'em, just spookin' 'em,” he chuckled darkly. “Besides, you knew this when we made the plan.”

“Yeah, but now that we're here, I want out,” he whined.

“Well ya can't. Now get a move on!” the first man hissed angrily.

Kara's teeth ground together. She had to move quickly, she decided. Playing with guns usually led to someone accidentally getting hurt and this man was obviously itching for mayhem. Using her x-ray vision to see the quickest path to intercept them, she headed in that direction immediately, fists clenched tightly together. They were humans too, so she would have to hold back on her powers.

With the sound of wood splintering, Kara was at the scene swiftly, a classroom door having been kicked down by one of the hostile men. She went into the room and saw the children huddled in a pile around the teacher who was brave enough to glare at the man waving the gun around.

One of the kid's spotted Kara before she had the chance to swipe the gun from the man's hand and exclaimed, “Supergirl!” which elicited a jerk reaction from the gunman who's finger twitched on the trigger and the gun went off. Kara froze in horror as the bullet lodged itself into the teacher's right shoulder and they cried out in pain.

Immediately, Kara super sped in front of the man, destroyed the gun with her strength and knocked him out cold. She looked as steadily as possible at the accomplice who was shaking in fear.

“I'm...I'm...I'm so sorry,” he stammered, hands up in surrender.

“Don't move,” she warned the man, tapping her ear piece and informing the police outside which classroom she was in and that the hostiles were taken care of, adding that the teacher had been wounded. Kara stood there defiantly, eyes never straying from the unarmed man with tears in his eyes. She had glanced back a moment ago to see the teacher applying pressure to the wound to suppress the bleeding.

It was when she heard a light whimper that she tore her gaze from the hostiles and spied under the teacher's desk. Kara's eyes widened as she slowly approached as the police were nearing the classroom. “Carter,” she whispered compassionately, rounding the desk and then kneeling on the floor. “Hey...things are okay now. I promise,” she told him sincerely, hoping he heard despite his hands around his ears. Kara took note of the split on his lip and narrow line of blood on his chin, no doubt an accidental self-infliction of fear.

Carter's eyes had opened in shock at Supergirl's presence, but he had yet to say anything. Slowly he straightened slightly, shaking his head as his hands began to move rapidly. Kara watched intrigued for a moment then smiled in understanding.

Making sure she had eye contact, as much as he would allow anyway...Kara raised her hands and signed slowly, meaningfully, “ _You safe now.”_

“ _You know ASL?”_ he signed back, mouth open in surprise.

Kara's right fist bobbed in ascent. “ _My sister taught me.”_ Oops...maybe she shouldn't have revealed that. Supergirl has a sister? Uh oh.

Carter made no indication of the knowledge. “ _I scared,”_ he informed her with a wary expression.

“ _I know_. _You safe now. Want your mom? I take you? Fly,”_ Kara suggested, knowing that Cat would want to see her son as quickly as possible. She wasn't so sure about the flying him to CatCo part, but she wanted him to feel as safe as possible and that was with Cat.

His eyes widened exponentially and his hands relaxed against his legs. Kara's eyebrows rose higher in a questioning manner. Carter quickly nodded his head, excitement about flying with Supergirl overpowering his nervous breakdown, but he still wasn't ready to speak and he indicated as such with a hand turning an imaginary key near his throat. Kara signed that she understood and rose onto her feet, allowing Carter to come out on his own.

Thankfully the men had been taken away already, the teacher on a paramedic's cot as what she could only assume as the vice principal stood with the rest of the children. “I'm going to take Mr. Grant to his mother,” Kara informed the room as Carter collected his bag, zipped it up nice and tight and slid on the straps.

“Thank you for your help, Supergirl,” the vice principal said breathlessly. The rest of the kids echoing the sentiment. Kara glanced at the teacher once more with a knit brow before Carter came to stand in front of him. She smiled down and ushered him out of the classroom and to the nearest exit.

“Alright, Carter. I need you to hold on to my neck and I'm going to lift you up,” Kara spoke aloud, only because she was preparing her hands for Carter's weight. He nodded once and stepped up, gulping slightly. When he had wrapped his arms around her neck, she picked him up easily and flew into the air lightly.

At first he had his face buried in Supergirl's shoulder, some of his mother's fear of heights slipping out but slowly he pulled away and began to look around. National City was absolutely beautiful from the sky in the afternoon. He wondered what it looked like at sunrise or sunset. It must be truly amazing. His grip loosened on the hero's neck, trust in the woman cementing further.

Kara glanced down at Carter and smiled wistfully as they neared CatCo. She cleared her throat to get his attention and his mouth dropped at flying towards his mother's personal balcony. He had never had the chance to see his mother's work from this point of view. Kara touched down lightly on the balcony and lowered Carter to the ground. He signed thank you to her and rushed inside to his mother who was nursing a drink at the bar.

Cat turned around with a gasp and wrapped her son in a tight hug. “Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you're safe Carter, how are you, is everything okay?” she flung a million questions at the boy without thinking, worry laced in her frantic tone.

Carter pulled away and signed to her, “ _Supergirl came, saved us.”_ Then he pointed out the window. Kara stood proudly with a slight smile on her face. Cat moved to the balcony door and regarded the superhero, the shine of something sad in those blue eyes.

“Thank you, Supergirl,” she said, the gratefulness palpable in her voice, emerald eyes red from worrying about Carter.

“Any time, Miss. Grant,” she replied, turning to look at Carter. “ _Goodnight,”_ she then finger spelled Carter's name. “Until next time,” she added to Cat before taking off into the sky.

Cat sighed as the superhero took off and turned to look at the beaming Carter. “ _You flew with Supergirl,”_ she signed, much more slowly than Carter or the Kryptonian had.

“ _Awesome,”_ he told her, moving to sit on one of the couches, curling his legs under him. Carter licked his lip having just now tasted copper when he had smiled at Supergirl. He frowned and felt at his lip, a gasp escaping.

His mother had already moved into the en suite bathroom to collect a cloth before gathering an icecube from her bar. Cat returned to her son and pressed it to his lip until he took it from her. She moved back to the bar and filled a small dish with M&Ms for Carter to munch on if he felt like it. She placed that on the table in front of him and sat beside her son.

“ _I glad,_ ” she signed back, watching her young man. Carter nodded in acknowledgement but didn't reply in any manner. They sat there for several moments in silence, Cat answering some emails on her phone as Carter nursed his split lip. Thankfully, her new assistant had cleared most of her afternoon and wasn't allowing anyone into the office, allowing her to keep a careful eye on her son.

Carter glanced toward the bullpen and frowned wistfully at not seeing Kara outside the office anymore. He knew she had been promoted a while ago, certainly deserved it, but he missed spending time with her. Needless to say, he was surprised when he spotted the tall blonde walk toward Winn's desk and hand over some papers, not so discreetly peering into his mother's office. Carter's face brightened and he waved for Kara to come in.

Noticing the movement from her son, Cat looked up and then out of her office, surprised to see Kara looking warily in. She also indicated for the woman to join them. Kara opened the door and closed it behind her, waving at Carter. Thankfully she was back in speaking mode once she had returned to her office and greeted the pair. “Hey Carter, C--Cat. Is everything okay?” she asked, stumbling over Cat's name. It was odd having permission to use her boss' first name now, but Cat had been adamant that Kara had earned that with her promotion.

“Thankfully,” Cat replied, adjusting her glasses slightly. “Supergirl smoothed things over at Carter's school and personally brought him to me,” she explained.

The thirteen year old boy immediately launched into a signing spiel about how awesome and amazing Supergirl had been. Kara somehow managed to not let a blush coat her cheeks as she sat on the opposite couch of the family and smiled in return. She began to reply when Cat spoke again.

“He's not speaking right now, but he will listen. Nothing to worry—Oh,” Cat had looked up in the middle of her sentence and saw Kara replying to Carter in sign language. “You know ASL?” she queried, setting her phone aside.

“Yeah. My sister and I used to talk behind Eliza's back about Alex's boyfriends or...deviant behavior. She taught me,” Kara told her.

Carter's head cocked to the side slightly as he watched his mother's former assistant curiously. Not only did Supergirl have a sister, but both hers and Kara's had taught them ASL? That was a strange coincidence. Although...if he had learned one thing from Gibbs of NCIS and inadvertently his mother without so many words: 'There's no such thing as a coincidence'. Hm...

Carter waved his hand to catch Kara's attention. “ _Your sister taught you?”_

Kara gulped imperceptible. “Yup,” she managed to mutter.

“ _Supergirl knows ASL too,_ ” he told her.

Kara's eyebrows rose.

He nodded in ascent. “ _She has sister_ ”

Kara's eyes widened in worry, glancing at Cat who had luckily returned to her phone for the moment. “ _Carter..._ ” she took her time finger spelling his name. “ _Listen_ ,” he gave her a funny look. Using a language for deaf people to ask someone to listen was highly amusing. “ _You can't say anything, ok?_ ” Her lips pursed as she gazed at the young boy.

“ _You...Supergirl?”_ he asked, amazement falling on his face. Kara held a finger up to her lips after she nodded. Carter grinned widely. “ _Deal,_ ” he promised, crossing his heart for emphasis.

Alex was going to kill her. Carter Grant knew her secret! His intelligence was right on par with his mother's, that much was for sure. At least Cat seemed placated with their little stunt double trick and it would remain that way. Kara breathed out silently, fiddling with her hands in her lap. She looked at Cat once more and then back to Carter. She indicated her lip and signed pain then a question mark.

Carter shrugged in response and held up the cloth with the melting icecube in it. Kara nodded. He seemed to be closing up again, she noted as his hand rested on his lap and he began to lean into his mother's side. Cat glanced at him and smiled serenely.

Kara felt tears prickle at the backs of her eyes. They looked so perfect and sweet, beautifully domestic. She was grateful to see this side of Cat and couldn't quite place the niggling feeling in her heart that ached. Carter was safe, Cat was with him right now, they were fine and yet she felt like something was missing, like she wasn't in the right spot of this picture.

That teacher, though. She had gotten wounded. Kara bit the inside of her cheek as guilt sunk like a rock to the bottom of her stomach. She had been too late, should have acted sooner and no one would have had to go to the hospital. Kara played with her glasses and stared at her lap.

“I, uhm...I gotta go,” she mumbled awkwardly, standing from her spot, drawing both Grants' attention. “Glad you're okay, Carter. See ya,” Kara stated and walked out of the office quickly.

Cat watched Kara go with a confused look on her face. “That was unusual. Even for her,” she said, looking at Carter who shrugged and rested against her once more. He knew what was wrong, or...he could guess at any rate, but he needed time to process what had happened, now that the exhilaration of the flight and Kara's reveal had died down. Cat frowned when she saw her son recede inwards again. No doubt the events of the day had worn him down. Carter never did do well with crisis situations. The train event was the only exception in recent times that the media mogul could recall and that was mostly because Carter had gone on that expedition of his own accord in hopes of seeing Supergirl. Foolhardy, but it worked and he hadn't closed down as much as he was now and Cat wasn't even sure what had happened at the school. She decided then she would broach the subject when they were home.


	2. Chapter 2

Several hours later Cat and Carter had returned home, had a quick and quiet supper with little communication between them. Carter had apologized more than once for being closed up only to be assuaged by his mother that it was okay. Afterwards they had sat in the game room, the teen engrossed in Super Mario Galaxy as Cat watched on, checking her phone now and then but attempting to read her novel to avoid work related things. This time was so Carter and she would be there as much as he needed her, especially after the day he had. Surprisingly enough it was him who had decided to go to bed early, claiming to be too exhausted to keep playing the game any longer despite having an hour extension on his Friday and Saturday night bedtimes.

When Cat was done replying to an email on her phone she left it in her study and went to tuck Carter in and ask if he was ready to talk about the lockdown incident before he went to sleep. She hoped it would help him clear his head so he could rest easy tonight and not dream of anything unwelcome. Finding him in bed with a comic book perched on his lap, Cat smiled fondly and sat beside him.

“Hey sweetie...” she said to get his attention, running a hand through his hair. “Will you tell me what happened, now? And we both know speaking will help more,” she pushed lightly. Carter sighed and put his comic book on his bedside table, taking a moment's reprieve before he began.

“We were in the middle of a chemistry test...” he paused, looking down at his lap, trying to make sure he got the order of events correct. He had a tendency to say the most important things and then backtrack or get to the point of the story when he was upset. Luckily his mother's proclivity for journalism allowed her to put the story together easily in her head. “And I finished early so I brought the test up to the teacher so I could continue reading Wicked. And then the...the lockdown alarm went off. I dropped to the floor and crawled around to the teacher's desk. I think the teacher went to lock things up and sat with the rest of the class where...where it was safe. I guess I was okay where I was,” Carter continued, his eyes dilating as he got a reminder of the panic that had overtook him.

Cat reached over and clasped his hands in hers, squeezing lightly in support. He took in a shaky breath of air and then breathed out again through his nose, locking his gaze on his mother's. She always had that nice calming effect on him when he was about to curl in on himself. Much better than his father's way of handling him, which was walking away and letting him be alone. Which helped for a short period of time but then Carter needed that unconditional support and love, which his mother supplied.

“There were hurried footsteps...a gunshot...I hyperventilated, but was quiet somehow...then I think some angry footsteps?” it was posed as a question, his brows furrowing together trying to recall what happened when he was trying to block out the world. “And then I think Supergirl came in and another bullet was shot. Next I knew Supergirl was in front of me, talking me down,” Carter seemed to perk a little at the end of the story, remembering how steady and calm she had been, how she had been so gentle and kind. He yawned. “Then I got a lift to CatCo,” he said with a note of finality.

Cat smiled slightly, glad Carter was out of his funk for the moment and had spoken aloud. She had missed his voice all afternoon and night. Those moments never lasted too long, the longest once being a full 24 hours when Carter's father called in a panic that their son hadn't been speaking for a few hours. Cat had actually spent the time at Carter's father's to calm their son down because the man had never taken the time to learn ASL or even bothered to communicate by text or written messages. It was frustratingly simple but it was a further testament to her dedication to Carter and how much she loved him, so she hadn't minded so much.

When Carter began to shimmer under the covers further, Cat helped pull them up to his chin and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Supergirl knows ASL like Kara, mom, didja know that?” he asked sleepily.

Cat paused as she was rising from the bed, curiosity overcoming her features. “You don't say...” she murmured, waiting for Carter to fully fall asleep before leaving entirely. Just another tick in the affirmative column of her former assistant being Supergirl. But did Carter figure that out?

–

“Hey, Kara.”

“Uh...hi, Carter. How are you doing?” Kara stammered as she fidgeted with her blue and yellow sundress outside of the Grants' apartment.

“Better. Thanks,” he admitted freely, ushering her indoors.

Kara glanced around for a moment before bending down to Carter's level. “Do you know why your mom invited me for Sunday lunch?” she asked in whisper.

Carter shrugged. “Maybe it's to thank you for Friday,” he winked but grinning conspiratorially. With the look of horror on his friend's face he waved his hands. “No, no, I didn't say anything, of course. I'm teasing,” he admitted with a light giggle.

“Oh! Oh...a joke. Okay, good, cause I already had to convince her I wasn't...you know who once,” Kara sighedd in relief, beginning to follow Carter as he headed further into the building.

“Mom! Kara's you-know-who...” Carter called out with another giggle, running ahead of Kara before adding, “Lord Voldemort!”

Kara glared after the young teen before reluctantly following and turning the corner to see Cat at the stove.

“Yes, I know. Sunny Danvers is the perfect disguise for the Dark Lord,” she replied, wiping her hands on the apron round her waist before turning to greet her guest. Kara gulped as a blush colored her cheeks. Cat was the most relaxed Kara had ever seen her, wearing a black knee length skirt and a deep purple shirt that wrapped around her torso in all the right places, dipping down her chest to give a peek of cleavage.

“Afternoon,” Kara managed to speak, despite her heart hammering in her throat. Kara had always been attracted to Cat, at first assuming it was because she admired the woman and wished to be her one day, but soon realized that it was something far deeper and more romantic. But that was something she knew she couldn't dip her toe into. Cat was into high profile, powerful and rich aristocrats, pun unintended, as her mind was reminded of the Disney movie Aristocats. She had been thinking about that feeling of not belonging all weekend, drowning her thoughts in TV and ice cream when she wasn't out saving the city.

“Much better without the cardigans,” Cat commented before her head turned toward the simmering of vegetables on the stove.

“Gl—glad you approve, Cat,” Kara smiled slightly, noticing Carter waving for her to join him on the couch.

Carter glanced back at his mother before looking at Kara again. He typed something out on his phone before showing her: “ _How's the superhero-ing?”_ He wanted to sign with her again, she seemed more adept at it than his mother, and he so rarely got the chance to practice ASL but he had a specific sentence in mind when he heard Kara was joining them today.

Kara nodded her head and signed, “ _Good. 2 Bank robbery, 1 kitten in tree, 1 car accident stopped.”_

“ _Awesome. I...”_ he paused and visibly bit his lip before wincing and rubbing it with his tongue, having forgotten about his split lip. “ _I want fly again,”_ he admitted shyly, gaze averted slightly.

“ _Maybe soon, I don't know_ ,” she offered warily. Kara pointed at his lip.

“ _Better but hurt._ ” Carter signed.

“You guys know I can see you signing, right?” came Cat's voice from the kitchen. Kara's face flushed again, not daring to look in the direction of her boss. When Carter tapped her shoulder a few times and gestured to the kitchen, Kara reluctantly did as he suggested, sighing when she saw Cat busy with her back turned. She must have looked around briefly or guessed at the reason for their silence.

“Yeah, we're talking about you,” Carter spoke.

“Oh? What about?”

“Kara's complaining about how mean you are at work,” he teased, covering his mouth of the grin on it.

“I am not,” Kara retorted, glaring at Carter as she poked his shoulder hard. He opened his mouth in shock for a moment.

“Well it's not far from the truth,” Cat agreed with the lightest of laughs, turning to gaze at the two on her couch. She smiled briefly. Kara got along so well with Carter, helped bring him out of his shell. He never used to joke around so much until he had met the woman, truly brightening up and finding new ways to cope with his shyness. It was a breath of relief from dealing with Carter's father for all these years. Not once had she introduced someone to Carter who understood his need for patience and occasional silence, fun on his terms and special personality. And Kara was the ideal friend for Carter at this point in his life. And she was never more beautiful than when she was smiling and having fun with her son. Wait.

Cat sighed as quietly as she could, turning back around to finish cooking their lunch. She thought she had pushed these feelings aside having promoted Kara and given her an office all her own and working through the idiocy of them in therapy. And yet, here she was back at square one. Not that she really minded, but she couldn't exactly pursue that romantic avenue, no matter how much she adored Kara's bright disposition and easy smile. The way she had treated Kara for the first two years was abhorrent. Common for anyone in the position, but not something easily overcome should they pursue a relationship. But it was a nice daydream all the same. It wasn't easy fitting into the Grant family, especially to gain the eldest's respect, but Cat never cared for her mother's opinion on anything in her life, amazed all the same how Kara had wormed her way into her life.

“Lunch is ready,” Cat called out, trying to be chipper to not alert the other occupants to her less than favorable thoughts. She placed the steaming pot of green peas onto the table and took a seat as Carter and Kara came to join them. Carter carefully took a seat at the opposite end of his mother, forcing Kara to sit between them.

“Wow...this looks amazing, Cat,” Kara said, taking in the brilliant scents around her. She not so swiftly moved to collect the largest piece of pork chop from its position on the pan and began to dish out some rice and then the peas. She was careful in not overstuffing her plate with food despite her hunger.

Cat nearly piped up that it was okay if she wanted more but held her tongue in remembrance that she in fact was not suppose to be privy to Kara's secret. Cat did notice her son watching with a sly grin on his face, hiding a chuckle behind his hand before lathering butter onto his rice and then reached for the sugar dish.

Kara had heard Carter make a noise and was watching him decorate his rice with sugar, brows screwed in confusion. “What...are you doing, Carter?” she asked as innocently as possible, not wishing to upset Carter.

“Oh! I...I put sugar on my rice, it's kinda like a sweet side. Mom said she and her dad used to do it all the time for breakfast purposes and I tried it once at dinner and decided I liked it better than salt and pepper,” Carter explained with a quick glance at his mother. “Wanna try a bit?” he offered, holding up his spoon.

“Sure,” Kara replied, leaning closer to collect the spoon and dump it into her mouth, careful to not touch the utensil, then she handed it back. She chewed thoughtfully, allowing her senses to take in the full effect of the taste. “That's pretty good,” she gave Carter a thumbs up as she continued to cut up her own meet. Kara took a moment to look at Cat, this being the first time her father was brought up in conversation. Steeling her resolve she decided to ask, “I've only met your grandmother...” but before she could phrase her question, Carter spoke.

“Me too,” he said with a note of sadness. Kara's attention once more drawn to Cat who was staring down at her food. “He died before I was born...I think even before Adam was born,” Carter looked at his mother for an agreement of some kind.

Cat cleared her throat and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before speaking, “Yes. My father died shortly after I went into college. A car accident on the highway,” she admitted in a decidedly uncharacteristic voice, small and broken. Without thinking, Kara's hand came to rest on top of Cat's.

“I'm so sorry, Cat. I know what it's like to lose a parent. Three times over...” she trailed off, biting her lip at mentioning that. Cat knew if she looked down at their hands Kara would pull back so instead she brought her eyes up to Kara's and smiled wryly.

“Thank you, Kara,” she replied. Carter watched the interaction between his two favorite women, waiting for the opportune moment to interrupt and change the subject. Something was seriously brewing between them but he wasn't quite sure what that was, though he was itching to find out.

“A much better dad than mine, from what I've heard,” Carter broke the silence after a few more moments of locked gazes. “Sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off here full-time,” he added as an afterthought.

Cat's head snapped toward her son's. “You...would want to live here full time, Carter?” she queried, amazement in her voice.

“Well, yeah, I guess. You get me. It feels like I'm a chore when I'm at dad's. Like he doesn't care. He takes care of me, no neglect there, but he doesn't feel like my dad, you know?” he fiddled with the fork in his hand, pushing the green peas on his plate around.

“Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry...uhm...why don't we discuss this later okay? I'm glad you told me how you feel though, thanks,” Cat decided to shelve the subject until Kara had headed home. Though Carter was comfortable bringing it up in front of Kara, she didn't want to speak ill of Carter's father in front of Kara. Carter nodded his head and speared a piece of porkchop.

The rest of the lunch had gone by swiftly, talk of Kara's new job and Carter's favorite subjects keeping them occupied. When Kara had been about to help with plate removal, Cat insisted she make herself at home in the living room and asked for Carter's assist instead.

When they had their backs turned, Cat signed to her son, “ _I need speak with Kara alone, sweetie.”_

Carter nodded his head. “ _Okay. Want kiss her?”_ he grinned wickedly before moving back to the table to collect a couple pans.

“Carter!” Cat hissed after him, looking at the back of Kara's head at the couch once more. Had Carter picked up on her feelings for her former assistant? Or was he just playing around? She hoped she wasn't that translucent to her son. Though...who could ever be anything but content in Kara Danvers' presence? She radiated sunlight and rainbows. But did she really radiate rainbows? That was another issue to overcome. If Kara even was attracted to women. Cat sighed as she finished washing off the dishes and placing them in the washer.

“I have to go check on a science project, Kara. See ya I a little bit, at least before you go?” Carter informed his friend, with a smile.

“Definitely. What project?” Kara replied, surprised Carter seemed to need getting out of her hair. She had half-expected to be drawn into a game of Mario Cart, or Settlers of Catan to finally witness the epic strategies he claimed his mother owned.

“The effect of light on certain plants at certain times of day,” he said, turning on his heel to move to his room.

Kara chuckled, spotting Cat coming to join her. “He's really a great kid, Cat,” she informed her.

“I know...” Cat said affectionately. She sat down beside Kara, reveling at the slight flush on the woman's face when their thighs touched briefly. If she couldn't have a relationship with Kara, she would take what she could in little forms of flirtation and embarrassing the girl. A small voice chipped in that Kara's reactions might be an indicator for reciprocal feelings, but Cat pushed that aside as wishful thinking.

“Only time will tell, but I think he's finally come to terms with Friday's events. Hopefully tomorrow will go smoothly,” Cat added, looking down the hall her son had gone.

“I hope so too...” Kara's voice was softer than usual as she wrung her hands in her lap. “Cat...why did you invite me to lunch?”

Cat turned to face Kara, appraising her brazenness in asking the question. “As I told you, I felt it was time to get to know you better and after the way you handled Carter in the office on Friday, I felt he would appreciate seeing you again. Needless to say you impressed me with your knowledge of ASL,” she admitted, a glint shining in her emerald eyes. Now that she knew her former assistant knew sign language, they could communicate without words if the need arose.

“It's a very fun language and one I put on my resume,” Kara lightly poked back, knowing Cat didn't seem to care too much for resumes of assistants and focused more of their work ethic and personality.

“Ah...”

“I could...uhm...help you practice some more if you like. I saw you signing more slowly than Carter and needed some words finger spelled,” Kara broke eye contact, wondering if she had overstepped.

“I would appreciate that,” Cat found herself replying before realizing she had opened herself to spending more time outside the office with Kara. Though, frankly that idea, ASL lessons or otherwise, wasn't a horrible thought. The admission was what worried Cat that she had revealed too much.

Kara faced her again and smiled.

“Interestingly enough, Supergirl also knows ASL. I'll have to include that in the next exclusive,” Cat mentioned with a dismissive wave of her hand as though it was common knowledge.

“O-hh? How do you know that?” Kara stumbled over her words, heart rate spiking in concern.

“Carter mumbled it when he was fell asleep Friday. I mean...how else would Supergirl have talked to him when he was already closed off to the world?” Cat pretended to be interested in the state of her prim nails as she watched Kara's reaction out of the corner of her eyes.

“Wow, yeah...that, that is a very cool talent for her to have. Sure it comes in handy with the deaf community,” Kara proffered, trying to act collected.

“However...” Cat started, Kara's heart skipping a beat when the woman scooted a little closer to her on the couch. “Gibbs from NCIS and I do agree on one thing. Do you know what that is, Kara?” she drawled. Gulping, Kara slowly shook her head, eyes wide as Cat placed her hand on Kara's knee. “There's no such thing as a coincidence,” she finished, eyes squinting in studious focus of reading Kara's face.

Kara cleared her throat before attempting to speak, a swift glance down at the hand on her knee causing a blush to rise up her neck. “What...what do you mean by that, Miss—Cat?”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike these last three chapters, I don't have anything pre-written beyond this so the update might take longer especially because I need to finish up my SuperCatSlam entry soon, so bare with me, please.

“There's no such thing as a coincidence,” she finished, eyes squinting in studious focus of reading Kara's face.

Kara cleared her throat before attempting to speak, a swift glance down at the hand on her knee causing a blush to rise up her neck. “What...what do you mean by that, Miss—Cat?”

Cat squeezed Kara's knee. “That I'm intensely grateful you saved my son, Kara. Don't you dare lie to me now. His life was literally in the fray and you went to him,” she gulped down her emotions, tears prickling her eyes before vanishing once more. “Thank you,” she whispered in the most genuine tone Kara had ever heard from her boss' voice, not even when conversing with her son.

The Kryptonian bit her lip, trying not to stutter her automatic response of lying whenever someone attempted to address her secret. It was second nature by now, so to prevent that, she looked down to her lap and placed a soft hand over Cat's. Kara focused on breathing evenly and not freaking out about losing her job again, but did hear the brief quickening of Cat's heart. She smiled slightly.

“Please don't fire me, Cat. Working for you makes me feel normal, it balances my life out, not to mention helps pay the bills,” Kara finally spoke in a soft voice, figuring that honesty was the best way to get through to her boss. If Cat understood the gravity and meaning of her job at CatCo maybe she would reconsider firing her.

“Oh, Kara,” she scoffed, drawing the younger woman's curious eyes up again. “Why do you think I gave you an office without windows and a quick escape to the stairs?”

“...To work my way up to a better office?” Kara asked.

Cat actually chuckled. “Typically yes, that would be a valid reason, but no...your little stunt double fooled me for several moments, maybe a day at most, but I knew you must work for some shady Men in Black-esque organization and could pull that rabbit out of the hat easily. There's no one else in National City that could be Supergirl but you. Who else but Sunny Danvers to save the day?” Cat explained with a lightheartedness.

“You knew, but...promoted me anyways?” Kara asked carefully. Cat nodded, allowing Kara to process the information.

“How did you arrive so quickly at the school?” Cat prodded slightly.

“I was in the bullpen when you got the call. I heard lockdown and Carter's school. I left immediately,” Kara admitted, her blush rising to her cheeks, fingers flexing slightly against Cat's hand. She wasn't uncomfortable with the contact so much as unused to it. It was a nice reminder to ground herself and not worry too much, a reassurance of sorts.

“Ah...super hearing. That's how you knew about Dirk and how you always heard me calling your name no matter where you were. Helping in being my assistant, no doubt?” Cat raised an eyebrow teasingly. It was then she she carefully flipped her hand so their palms were facing one another. She did no more, allowing Kara to entwine their fingers if she so desired. “I saw that the teacher got shot in the shoulder, will make a full recovery. You got a look of sadness on your face Friday, Kara. Are you okay?” Cat questioned softly.

Kara looked down again, the memory of not saving that teacher and feeling left out in Cat's office that day coming back in perfect clarity thanks to her alien brain. She sighed and decided to be brave by properly holding Cat Grant's hand. “Yeah...I just...I should have gotten there sooner. Then she wouldn't have been hurt. I feel...guilty,” she said.

“Out of hundreds of students and faculty in the school, only one got wounded. You saved everyone in that building, especially my son,” Cat attempted to reason with Kara.

“Which makes it seem like the only reason I was there was for Carter's sake,” Kara pouted, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. True, she had initially gone to the school to protect Cat's son but she would have been called there anyways eventually and wanted to help everyone but she couldn't lie when the question would come about what her priority was. Which was finding Carter.

“And for that I'm eternally grateful, _Kara,”_ Cat emphasized the name to get her attention. “You could not have done any better, I promise,” she spoke slowly so her meaning was implicitly understood. Kara released the breath she had been holding, a wan smile trying to cross her face. Cat was mildly worried that the sunny smile wasn't immediately brought back to Kara's face and wasn't entirely sure how to provoke it back into existence. Wasn't sure how to cheer her former assistant up.

“I wish I had your optimism about this,” Kara responded, seemingly intent on bemoaning her decisions.

“Oh, for crying out loud, Kara,” Cat huffed in exasperation before leaning forward and placing a light kiss on Kara's cheek. “You're the most optimistic person on this planet or any other. You have to move past this and keep going,” she said sternly.

Kara's free hand had raised to the spot where Cat had kissed her cheek as she stared at her boss stunned. Her mouth had gone dry when the woman leaned into her and she felt herself frozen on the spot after it happened, hardly registering what Cat had said to her. “Uh...uhm...I...” she stammered, keenly aware of the heat in her cheeks.

Cat watched on in intrigue. Perhaps...no. Kara couldn't feel that way for her too. She was simply surprised at her boss acting so strangely toward her of late. Nothing more, nothing less. Which swiftly sent a pang of regret and hurt to her heart, but this was old hat for her by now. She was about to pull her hand back, but found Kara's grip increase slightly as she continued to find something to retort with. Very intriguing...

“In your office Friday...” she started, staring at their hands as her thumb began to rub Cat's knuckles, focusing her mind in order to speak. “I felt...like something was missing, like I felt left out when Carter was leaning on you. I know it's silly,” Kara covered swiftly then began to speak quickly to suppress any awkwardness, “I have my own family and I should be happy with that and I totally am despite losing another father but I can't explain what I felt when I saw how sweet the two of you were or why I felt that way, but I did and it's been on my mind all weekend and--”

Cat cut her off with a single finger pressed to Kara's lips. Slowly Kara brought her gaze up to Cat's, gulping when she saw compassion in her emerald orbs. “I don't think you even realize how effectively you've wormed your way into our life. It's not surprising that you want a larger part, that you want to spend more time with Carter,” Cat spoke carefully, putting her focus on her son versus her own selfish desire.

“It's not just Carter,” Kara surprised herself with the easy admission. Her eyes widened slightly, but the  grip on her hand tightened once more preventing her from pulling away.

“Oh?”

Kara gulped, worrying her lip for a moment or two before pulling at her Supergirl confidence. “I...I want to get to know you, Cat,” it was like pulling teeth for the Kryptonian to reveal she wanted something out loud. She had been gifted so much as is that it felt unfair to ask for more. “I want to be more than friends,” she added for clarity's sake, jaw sitting strong as she awaited for the let down, the dismissal.

Cat's heart fluttered at hearing Kara speak those words. She hadn't been wrong. The feelings she suspected from her former assistant had been accurately discerned. They had reciprocal feelings for one another and she felt her mind explode at the thought of pursuing a relationship with Kara, of courting her. No matter how old fashioned that term sounded.

She decided to test her luck, and Kara's confidence, “More than friends in what sense... _Kara?_ ”

Kara's breath hitched, eyes dilating slightly at hearing the purr of her name from Cat's lips. “More than friends, like...your...girlfriend,” she managed to reply evenly, moving closer to Cat's face, not once breaking eye contact. “Will you be my girlfriend, Cat?” Kara whispered when their noses nearly brushed, a wave of excitement shooting through her when she realized Cat had mirrored her movement.

As their breaths mingled, Cat remained silent, contemplative. It would be so easy to close the short distance and finally kiss the object of her desire, sealing the deal and falling further for this beautiful creature. No worries seemed to cross Kara's mind as she revealed her true feelings for her, but something nagged in the back of Cat's mind, listing the many reasons they might not work as a couple. If her rational side were functioning in such close proximity to Kara it would inform her these were the reasons _others_ would tear them down for being together. Not her own insecurities because frankly, she was entirely too selfish when it came to Kara Danvers.

“Please?” Kara's eyes closed, her head angled slightly in preparation for a kiss, so close Cat ached.

Somewhere the words “fuck it” came to mind and Cat took the leap, kissing Kara with a gentleness she was unused to, taking her time to enjoy this moment, to explore each other. Kara was no novice to kissing, but took great care in following Cat's lead, easily mimicking the older woman's movements in opposite synchronicity. It was tender and sweet and so lovely that Cat felt herself grow lightheaded when she brought her hand up to rest on Kara's neck to keep her close.

Cat sighed when she couldn't kiss Kara any longer, the relief felt at taking that last step giving her the strength of heart to fly, if not the ability itself. The grin on her face was entirely too goofy for her usually calm demeanor and Kara was giggling quietly to herself.

“That was really nice,” Kara murmured, a blush coating her cheeks.

“Yes it was,” Cat agreed, leaning in to peck at Kara's lower lip teasing it with her teeth to earn a gasp before pulling back once more and resting their foreheads together. Kara's breathing had sped up at the unexpected shot of pain, but she smiled wider.

“You didn't answer my question.”

Cat batted at Kara's shoulder. “You implied the response was a kiss, so you should have your answer, Supergirl,” she teased. Kara relaxed as she stole a quick kiss from Cat.

“That will never not feel new to me,” Kara admitted, despite the worry her cliché might warrant a glare.

“Could get used to it...” Cat caught her gaze with a mischievous gleam. Kara giggled nervously, biting her own lower lip before Cat placed a soothing kiss on the same spot. “Stop, worrying will you?” she asked, kissing Kara's cheek. “You caught me. Hook, line and sinker,” she promised sincerely.

“Are you...” Kara was going to get smacked. “...a catfish?” the shit-eating grin on her face was enough to cause Cat to pause in her glare but she did slap Kara's shoulder once more.

“That's the _only_ free pass you get, Keira. I hope you realize that,” Cat intoned purposefully. Kara nodded deftly, removing her hand from Cat's grip to pull the older woman into a proper hug, burying her nose in Cat's soft curls.

Cat sighed at the sweet gesture, gladly letting herself be engulfed by strong arms, hands splayed on Kara's shoulders. How she hadn't told Kara she knew that night on the balcony during Myriad was a miracle. How she hadn't told her her feelings, was beyond restraint. There was no doubt in her mind that Kara and Supergirl were one, that parlor trick fooling her briefly. It scared her when Kara came to her office the day after, baring her soul to Cat in some futile attempt at open honesty and not what it truly was: a suicide note. Had she gone to everyone and told them something equally as special? She had hardly been able to keep it together in the moment, she couldn't imagine how everyone else handled the change in personality. Cat's fingers dug into the fabric of Kara's dress, clinging to her as she realized how grateful Kara was still here.

If Kara noted the difference in Cat's position in the hug, she made no mention, or altered herself, simply continuing to rub her hands along Cat's back, basking in her scent and comforted by her presence. So comfortable and safe she didn't even notice that they were no longer alone.

Carter cleared his throat softly. “Done making out?” he asked with a decidedly devious lilt to his voice.

Cat pulled away from Kara first, despite her desire to feel the other's existence since her thoughts went dark. “No, darling, why don't you give us another hour,” she said sarcastically, winking at her son.

Carter giggled in turn, creeping closer before sitting on the coffee table to face them both. He wrung his hands in his lap for a moment. “So...I was only teasing. What, uh...what did you talk about?” he didn't mean to intrude, didn't mean to assume things. He was fairly certain both women had feelings for the other, but he knew that sometimes those things didn't work out well and hoped he hadn't screwed things up or made them more awkward with his earlier remark. Which is why he was now attempting to cover it up by asking straight out what happened.

“Well, unsurprisingly, Cat knows my secret. Was probably always the first to know my secret,” Kara piped up, glancing at Cat mid-sentence.

“Carter, sweetie...” Cat jumped in. “Would you mind if Kara and I began to date?” It was a sensitive subject. None of Cat's previous interests had been known to last long enough to meet Carter, much less require the teen's permission to continue dating his mother. They were typically one time deals, or simply hookups that she had no intention of ever bringing up with Carter.

The teen took a few silent moments to ponder the question, amping up Kara's anxiety in the process. Then Carter looked at Kara and very seriously asked, “What are your intentions with my mother?”

Unintentionally, Kara barked out a slight laugh before composing herself. “Oh, wow. You're serious,” she chuckled nervously. She was going to answer anyway, but it had been so unexpected it was amusing and her reactions spot on. “All I intend to do is make her happy,” Kara answered.

Cat leaned into Kara's side and breathed, “You already make me happy,” not caring how gooey and warm it made her seem.

Carter's face broke into a smile. “Yeah, that's what I figured,” he informed them, smiling at the expression of pure bliss on his mother's face. She had never before looked so calm and ethereal, as though this was what the universe had always intended for her. That it had just been waiting for Kara's arrival and if she had been patient, she wouldn't have had to suffer through the rest of her heartache, but then...maybe Adam's dad, Adam, him and his own father were a means to where his mother was now. That if they hadn't happened, none of this would have happened anyways, Kara or no Kara. Hm... It was a confusing and convoluted subject to pursue, so Carter put that thought on a back burner and focused on the present. And the fact that his mom and Kara seemed to fit well together.

He moved from his spot to sit by Kara and wrap his arms around her waist, leaning against her in a similar manner to his mother. “Besides, I already like Kara, so this is great,” Carter added, nuzzling Kara's shoulder.

Kara glanced between the two of them, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Not two days ago she had been wishing for just such a scene to unfold for her and now here she was. She felt complete and perfect, loved without so many scary and far too early words, and that she belonged. Kara could be herself with the Grants, they both knew her secret and didn't care that she could hold the wait of a building on her back, could break the sound barrier, had laser vision, or was faster than a speeding bullet. No...they cared for her as she was, as Kara Zor El Danvers. And she would never take that for granted.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at kuromikoneko if you want to come check out my crazy blog, talk to me about fic, or throw me prompts. They help kickstart my writing muse!


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